In the deep mountain cave, Gou Donglai, Mo Xing, and others were busy with faces full of pleasant surprise, constantly wielding their specialized mining tools to collect pieces of purplish-black Ore into their baskets, hurrying them outside.
This time, the Beast Ore deposit is actually quite a bit larger than the one discovered the first time.
Gou Donglai sent the Ore out, still feeling a sense of unreality.
He never imagined that the Beast Ore deposit, which he would have to spend several days painstakingly searching for, would appear before his eyes in less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, and its location was even pinpointed with extreme accuracy, without any wasted effort.
Finally, he couldn't help but come before Lin Sheng and ask.
"Senior Brother Lin, how... how did you find this Ore deposit!?"
It wasn't just him; even Mo Xing also came over with a curious look.
These past few days, each of them had exerted great effort searching and surveying for Beast Ore. They didn't have much expectation from Senior Brother Lin. Firstly, as a direct Disciple, he didn't need to personally conduct exploration work. Secondly, he had only joined the Seven Forms Sect a few months ago and had no experience in Beast Ore mining. In their opinion, he couldn't be of much help.
Unexpectedly, the result was completely contrary to what they thought. This micro-deposit, conservatively estimated at 150,000 jin, appeared before their eyes just like that.
"My senses are different from ordinary people. My perception range is wider than yours, so I happened to find this Ore deposit."
Lin Sheng said lightly.
At this moment, he was also somewhat surprised. He didn't expect that just trying it out with a casual attempt would yield unexpectedly good results.
Undoubtedly, after incorporating the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile and Big Yellow, setting aside other things, the efficiency of collecting Beast Ore underground was astonishing.
Originally assigned to the Ding Character Area, he had basically given up on the idea of gaining much profit, intending to focus on cultivating here for half a year.
But this incident added a few more thoughts to his mind.
The Ding Character Area is vast, with sparse and scattered Ore deposits. It's basically difficult to find any large-scale deposits, and mining them requires a large amount of manpower.
However, after activating his Earth Affinity talent, these problems didn't seem like big problems anymore.
Since he was currently on Da Cui Peak, perhaps he could use this to make a fortune.
Although the last mission to kill that Jade Faced Man Kong Qi allowed him to gain a lot, the expenses after returning were also significant.
In particular, activating the third imprint required a great deal of money. Calculating it properly, his harvest this time might barely be enough to activate the third imprint even if he put all of it in.
As for Zhao Kongfang, he still owed him over 20,000 taels of silver. Although he had never asked for it, it was impossible not to repay.
Thinking of this, he quickly made a decision in his heart.
The discovery of this Ore deposit greatly boosted everyone's morale. In less than three days, they completed the excavation of this deposit, digging out a full 160,000 jin of Beast Ore.
For each of them, the share they received was roughly close to 400 taels of silver, while Lin Sheng's share was doubled, around 800 taels of silver.
Such a share might not seem like much, but if they discovered a true Ore vein, it would be enough for them to mine for several months. Calculating it this way, the monthly income could be close to 5,000 taels.
Moreover, the share of Beast Ore is not fixed. For production below one million jin, the share is only about 2%, while for production above one million jin, the share increases to 3%.
During the guarding period, the higher the total output of mining, the higher the final share proportion.
During these three days, Lin Sheng did not mine Beast Ore with the others. Instead, he spent half a day every day continuously searching within the Ding Character Area, looking for Beast Ore deposits in the area.
With the combination of Earth Affinity and Big Yellow's high perception, he found two more Ore deposits. Although these two deposits couldn't even be considered micro-veins, together they could yield nearly 300,000 jin of Beast Ore.
This also made Gou Donglai, Mo Xing, and the others overjoyed, and their attitude towards Lin Sheng became increasingly respectful.
Although they hadn't unearthed a true Ore vein, with continuous mining of such deposits, their income wouldn't be much worse than other direct Disciples stationed in the C Character Area.
These two Beast Ore deposits were enough for Gou Donglai and the others to mine for a week.
He didn't rush to find other Ore deposits but instead refocused his energy on cultivation.
In the mountain forest of Da Cui Peak.
Lin Sheng's figure continuously weaved and moved, like an incredibly swift hummingbird.
He held his hands in the shape of sword fingers, and a flickering green halo appeared at his fingertips.
Although he had only cultivated the martial art Qingniao Chasing Star Finger to the fourth layer, he also had some understanding of the subsequent layers.
The green halo at his fingertips at this moment was the strength burst forth after solidifying and compressing the Qi and blood within his body, which could be called Qi Strength.
Only true skill level martial arts cultivation methods could condense Qi and blood strength.
This was because the Bone Strength of the Bone Transformation Realm evolved and transformed from Qi Strength.
Generally speaking, only after stepping into the Blood Transportation Realm could one condense Qi Strength. However, due to the blessings of the Green-Eyed Fierce Eagle and Ghost Face Black Sandpiper, his Bloodline was quite compatible with this true skill.
Therefore, only after deliberate cultivation was he able to condense Qi Strength at the fourth layer.
If Bone Strength was the key to distinguishing between the Bones Transformation and Blood Transportation Realms, then Qi Strength was the key to distinguishing between true skills and other first or second-rate martial arts.
It can be understood that Qi Strength is Bone Strength weakened many times over.
Although it couldn't compare with true Bone Strength at all, it undoubtedly had a great advantage against Blood Transportation Warriors who hadn't cultivated Qi Strength.
"Successfully condensing Qi Strength, it seems I'm not far from the fifth layer of Qingniao Chasing Star Finger."
Looking at the faint green light lingering at his fingertips, a smile appeared on Lin Sheng's face.
He carefully experienced the profundity of the Qi Strength at his fingertips. Although the Qi Strength condensed at this moment was only a tiny wisp, it felt as if he could command it like an arm or finger.
Moreover, don't underestimate this wisp of Qi Strength; its power was quite good.
Lin Sheng raised his finger and lightly tapped the side of the mountain wall.
With a crisp crack, a palm-sized deep pit appeared in the tough mountain wall in front of him, about a zhang deep. And centered around the pit, layers of fine cracks appeared on the mountain wall on both sides.
He was quite satisfied with the power of this wisp of Qi Strength.
Looking up at the sky, he continued to condense Qi Strength while heading towards his residence, and soon arrived at his residence.
He found a somewhat familiar man standing in front of his residence.
The man was stout, with a simple and honest appearance. He was wearing plain clothes, which were the standard uniform of Qingniao Yard Disciples. Clearly, he was a Disciple of the Qingniao Yard.
Seeing Lin Sheng approach, the stout man's eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over.
"Senior Brother Lin, you're back."
"You are... Du Yi?"
Lin Sheng also recognized the identity of this stout man at this moment.
"That's right, it's me, Senior Brother Lin. Senior Brother Zhao asked me to bring you what you wanted."
After speaking, Du Yi had already blown a sharp whistle, and the heavy sound of horse hooves immediately came from the side mountain forest. A tall horse galloped out, with leather bags hanging behind it.
Seeing this, Lin Sheng quickly reacted. Before coming, he had entrusted Zhao Kongfang to help him purchase a batch of Spirit Beast blood and had, without question, stuffed him with 30,000 taels of silver banknotes.
He didn't expect it to arrive so quickly.
One must know that the distance from Da Cui Peak to Wanhua City is not close.
It was evident that Zhao Kongfang had put a lot of effort into this matter.
Thinking of this, he smiled and said.
"Master Du, I've troubled you this time. Please thank Senior Brother Zhao for me when you return."
Du Yi unloaded the large leather bags from the horse and had no intention of staying. After exchanging a few polite words, he galloped away on his horse.
Returning to his residence, Lin Sheng immediately prepared to absorb these Beast bloods.
The journey from Wanhua City to here was long, taking several days.
Although the leather bags felt cool to the touch and had a certain protective effect, it was better to absorb them as soon as possible.
This time, the Lin Sheng blood sent over was a bit more than he had imagined. It took half an hour to absorb all of it, and at this point, the activation progress of the third imprint on the panel had reached sixty percent, taking a big step closer to completely activating the third imprint.
However, he truly didn't have much silver left on him now.
He had not yet sold those two Bone Forging Treasure Pills. Being on Da Cui Peak now, selling them was also a bit troublesome.
"Never mind. I'll sell these two treasure pills after the guarding mission ends and activate the third imprint then."
Shaking his head slightly, he didn't dwell on this too much. After all, even if he activated the third imprint now, he didn't have a third flying Spirit Beast that could be incorporated. He could only choose to incorporate the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey.
However, he could also wait until three months later and exchange a portion of the Beast Ore dividends in advance, which should also yield a considerable harvest, allowing him to purchase some more Spirit Beast blood.
"Hoo..."
Exhaling a breath of stale air, he pushed open the door and walked towards the Ore deposit.
The distance to the deposit was not far. At his speed, he arrived in less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.
However, just as he arrived in front of the cave, Lin Sheng frowned.
At this moment, muffled thuds were constantly coming from inside the cave, and a trace of bloody smell permeated the air.
He furrowed his brows, tapped his toes on the ground, and his figure turned into a blur, shooting into the cave.
*
"Hurry, get out, get out of the cave! We can't do anything about this beast here!!"
Gou Donglai, with traces of blood on his body, roared sharply.
At the same time, he pushed out with both palms, a faint green glow appearing at his fingertips, precisely pointing at the ferocious head that suddenly drilled out from the side of the mountain wall.
With a bang, the head, covered in thick black scales, retreated back into the mountain wall with a muffled thud.
However, seeing this scene, Gou Donglai's face showed no sign of relaxation. Instead, he continuously scanned the surrounding mountain walls with a solemn expression, while urging the several Disciples beside him to retreat as quickly as possible.
Behind him, Mo Xing's clothes were mostly stained red with blood, and a large chunk of flesh was missing from the side of his waist and abdomen. Excessive blood loss made his face as pale as paper. He was being helped by a female Disciple as they ran towards the outside of the cave.
Among the remaining female Disciples, one also had bloodstains on her body, but her injuries were much better than Mo Xing's. At this moment, she was also running towards the outside of the cave.
Gou Donglai also slowly retreated. However, just as he retreated a few steps, the ground beneath his feet broke open, and that ferocious beast head appeared. It opened its bloody maw and bit towards his lower body, intending to swallow his legs in one go.
Fortunately, Gou Donglai remained vigilant, and coupled with his agile movement technique, he tapped his toes on the ground, leaping up like a bird, narrowly avoiding the foul-smelling maw. At the same time, he pointed out another finger, landing squarely in the center of the strange beast's head.
He used his full strength in this attack, intending to severely injure this strange beast. However, the scaled strange beast only shook its head, the thick scales on its head denting inwards a bit. Other than that, there was no other abnormality.
Before Gou Donglai could attack again, the mountain wall on the side cracked open, and a thick, long tail extended from it, sweeping towards him with the sound of an explosion.
Its speed was extremely fast, leaving him no time to dodge. He could only gather all his strength in his arms and brace forward.
Instantly, he felt an irresistible Giant Strength coming from his arms.
Gou Donglai's expression changed slightly. His whole body's muscles vibrated, transferring the force to his feet, but he still couldn't completely dissipate it. His strong figure staggered back several steps before he managed to stabilize himself.
His face alternated between red and pale, and his Qi and blood surged within him.
"This beast's strength is actually so formidable, it's probably close to becoming a true Spirit Beast."
Gou Donglai was horrified.
He had already recognized the identity of this powerful strange beast hiding underground.
It was a type of strange beast that lived underground called an Earth Armor Beast.
This type of strange beast becomes a Pseudo-Spirit Beast when it matures, and the Earth Armor Beast in front of him was quite a bit stronger than a normal adult Earth Armor Beast.
He wouldn't easily deal with a normal adult Earth Armor Beast in this cave, and the one in front of him was even harder to handle.
Just now, they were working hard to mine the Ore. Unexpectedly, they somehow attracted this big fellow. The incident was sudden. If he hadn't reacted quickly, Mo Xing would probably have become its bloody meal.
He knew very well that with his strength, he was definitely not a match for this big fellow, especially in this environment. If they didn't leave soon, they might die here.
He looked back at the group who had already run a distance, immediately stopped fighting, turned around, and chased after them.
Crash—
The Earth Armor Beast's scarlet eyes were full of greed as it glanced at the fleeing group. In the blink of an eye, it had disappeared into the stone wall again.
Soon, a series of restless sounds echoed within the mountain wall. Crushed stones kept falling from the mountain wall. The cave was like a dragon turning over underground. With a bang, the front of the cave actually collapsed directly, completely sealing the entrance.
"Break through with all your might!"
Seeing this scene, Gou Donglai thought to himself, 'Not good!' He roared loudly and unleashed his full strength, fiercely smashing the rubble blocking the passage, shattering the many crushed stones in front of him.
Seeing this, the others also quickly attacked the rubble. Although it wouldn't take them long to completely break through the rubble, the Earth Armor Beast clearly wouldn't give them that chance.
A loud bang came from above the cave. This time, the Earth Armor Beast directly extended more than half of its body. This was a giant pangolin as huge as an elephant, giving off an indescribable sense of massiveness.
Its scaled long tail swung towards the several people, moving extremely fast and bringing with it a series of air-bursting sounds. The strong winds it generated blew against people's faces, making them ache.
After all, they were all Blood Transportation Realm experts. Although the incident was sudden, they reacted extremely quickly and managed to barely block the long tail with their combined strength.
However, everyone was inevitably squeezed tightly into the narrow space. The Qingniao Chasing Star Finger itself is known for its speed, and in such a narrow space, it couldn't utilize its advantage at all. Furthermore, the continuous mining had already consumed a lot of their energy. At this moment, they were completely unable to struggle as they were suppressed by the giant scaled tail.
Hah...
Above everyone's heads, the Earth Armor Beast's bloody maw opened. The foul smell engulfed the crowd. The next moment, the giant maw dropped straight down towards the group.
The group, including Gou Donglai, was filled with shock and anger. They struggled desperately but couldn't break free for a moment, only able to watch the large maw get closer and closer, about to lose their lives here.
And just at this moment, the ground beneath everyone's feet softened and actually collapsed directly.
"What's going on!?"
Gou Donglai and the others were somewhat bewildered, not understanding what was happening.
However, the Earth Armor Beast did not give the several people a chance to catch their breath. Its lunge missed, and it let out a violent roar. Its massive body suddenly erupted with speed far exceeding its usual agility, biting towards the group once more.
However, this time, just as it made a move, the side cave wall shattered with a bang, sending countless crushed stones flying. A large hand flashing with a green halo reached out from within, precisely pointing at the Earth Armor Beast's head.
The Earth Armor Beast's body immediately froze, motionless as if time had stopped.
